Using a Mac Mini

This lesson explains the features and physical layout of the Mac Mini, including the variations in the 2009, 2010, and 2012 models used at the College.

2009 Mac Mini

The early-2009 model Mac Mini is silver with a white top and includes a built-in DVD drive (see above). There are no other physical buttons or ports on the front other than a white LED in the bottom that indicates that the computer is turned on (glows white when on), or asleep (flashes slowly when asleep).

Rear View of 2009 Mac Mini

The rear of the Mac Mini houses all of the ports, the power switch, and power connector. Ports available on the 2009 Mac Mini including:

  • Mini DVI port
  • Mini DisplayPort
  • Firewire 800
  • 5 x USB 2.0 ports
  • audio in/out jacks
  • Gigabit Ethernet

The Mac Mini can be turned on by pressing the Power Switch button with a single short press. Holding the power button down for more than 5 seconds will turn the Mac Mini off (this is not recommended unless the Mac Mini is completely non-responsive and cannot be turned off or restarted in any other way.

2010 Mac Mini

The Mid-2010 model Mac Mini is all silver with a black back panel and includes a built-in DVD drive (see above). There are no other physical buttons or ports on the front other than a white LED in the bottom that indicates that the computer is turned on (glows white when on), or asleep (flashes slowly when asleep).

Rear View of 2010 Mac Mini

The rear of the Mac Mini houses all of the ports, the power switch, and power connector. Ports available on the 2010 Mac Mini including:

  • Mini Display Port
  • HDMI
  • Firewire 800
  • 4 x USB 2.0 ports
  • SD card slot
  • audio in/out jacks
  • Gigabit Ethernet

The Mac Mini can be turned on by pressing the Power Switch button with a single short press. Holding the power button down for more than 5 seconds will turn the Mac Mini off (this is not recommended unless the Mac Mini is completely non-responsive and cannot be turned off or restarted in any other way.

2012 Mac Mini

The 2012 model Mac Mini is all silver with a black back panel with NO DVD drive (see above).

There are no other physical buttons or ports on the front other than a large white LED that indicates that the computer is turned on (glows white when on), or asleep (flashes slowly when asleep).

Rear View of 2012 Mac Mini

The rear of the Mac Mini houses all of the ports, the power switch, and power connector. Ports available on the 2012 Mac Mini including:

  • HDMI
  • Firewire 800
  • 2 x Thunderbolt ports
  • 4 x USB 3.0 ports
  • SD card slot
  • audio in/out jacks
  • Gigabit Ethernet

The primary difference between the 2010 and 2012 models of the Mac Mini are the absence of the DVD drive on the 2012 version and the inclusion of Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 ports in place of DisplayPort and USB 2.0 ports that were on the earlier 2010 model.

The Mac Mini can be turned on by pressing the Power Switch button with a single short press. Holding the power button down for more than 5 seconds will turn the Mac Mini off (this is not recommended unless the Mac Mini is completely non-responsive and cannot be turned off or restarted in any other way.